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I Am Your God

Posted by NormaGail on Sep 10, 2012 | 2 comments

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10

I finally had a diagnosis after years of illness and pain—a name for something which had been a collection of odd symptoms. The problem—no one knew what to do about it. They could treat symptoms, but not the condition. Some doctors believed it existed. Some didn’t.

The symptoms began in college, but for 17 years, no one ever made sense of them or gave me hope. In the 21 years since, I have often felt like a guinea pig, and had serious problems go ignored because doctors wouldn’t see past something they thought did not exist.

He allowed me to have a successful career as a nurse. God graciously enabled me to care for my children before the worst of it hit. I have been an enthusiastic and always present supporter in all of their endeavors, no matter what the weather or subsequent effects on me, and they are always present. Yet I have seen God’s hand, even in the worst. Looking back, I can see that He was with me in ways I never suspected at the time.

We have a God who is faithful. He is all-knowing, all-seeing, ever-present, and all-powerful. There are no limits to what He can or will do for His people, but He also loves us enough to take us to the end of ourselves, so that we will turn to Him.

He is a taskmaster who doesn’t let up until we have accomplished His purpose for us. As a parent does everything possible to mold the character of their child so they grow to be the best they can be, He is molding me—and He is molding you.

He has held my hand in the night when I cried in pain. He has encouraged me when doctors could give me none. He has comforted me when it seemed too much to bear. He has enabled me to bear what I thought I could not. He has shown me Himself when it was too dark to see.

Whatever you are facing now, no matter what your trial, God has promised to take you by the hand and lead you through. Do not fear. Reach for His hand, and God will help you.

Power in Weakness

Posted by NormaGail on Sep 3, 2012 | Comments Off on Power in Weakness

“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness’… That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:9a, 10

The news hit me out of nowhere. I had just been handed the opportunity to begin a women’s Bible study at our church. Our son was starting college. Our daughter was in her senior year and aiming for a soccer scholarship. Life was full and good. Then the doctor found a nodule on my thyroid gland. My diagnosis threatened to side-track my plans and responsibilities. I didn’t know what lay ahead.

When the doctor told me the biopsy showed cancer, I felt a supernatural peace. It is normally not a life-threatening form of cancer, but that doesn’t mean it’s a piece of cake either.

If you’ve ever experienced a power failure when your flashlight was running out of batteries, the light slowly dimming, you might be able to imagine something of what it was like. The thyroid is the source of our body’s energy, its ability to do work. I had things to do, but not the energy to do it. If I slept all night and all day I would still need to rest after a shower.

The apostle Paul had what he called his “thorn in the flesh.” He prayed to have it removed, but the answer was no. He had many responsibilities, and he had to perform them while suffering something he called “a messenger of Satan, to torment me,” yet he carried on. People came alongside to help, but more important, he had the power of Christ, which can enable you when your own power is gone.

God provided help, through family, friends, and co-leaders at church. I missed two weeks of the Bible study, and one soccer game. I might spend time in bed or resting most of the time, but for Bible study, church, and soccer games, I was there.

Whatever difficulty you face today, Christ is greater. His power is sufficient no matter what your weakness. When everything seems hopeless and your own abilities non-existent, you have a source of strength if you have Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.

Don’t get side-tracked by the immensity of the “thorn.” Look to Jesus, in His word and through prayer, and learn that, through Him, when you are weak, His power is sufficient. He will enable you to persevere in all that He wants you to accomplish. When you are weak, He will be your strength.

The Moon Which Shines by Night

Posted by NormaGail on Aug 27, 2012 | Comments Off on The Moon Which Shines by Night

“Praise him, sun and moon!
Praise him, all you twinkling stars!”

Psalms 148:3

I sat on the couch in my cousin’s darkened basement in Rigby, Idaho, late at night. It was July 20, 1969, and we were glued to the somewhat grainy images and voices broken by static on the black and white TV set watching history being made. We listened in rapt attention as astronaut, Neil Armstrong spoke. “That’s one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind.”

As we walked out to our camper in the yard, I remember looking at the sky and wondering what it would be like to be on the moon, looking at the earth, hundreds of thousands of miles from home. It has stayed clear in my memory as one of those world-changing events that you never forget—an amazing once in a lifetime moment, when you know things will never be quite the same again.

Neil Armstrong, dead this week at the age of 82, avoided the spotlight, never wanting the notoriety which accompanied the incredible feat he participated in. Yet, that one accomplishment made man think a lot more of himself and his ability to accomplish feats of scientific and technological skill. Sadly, it did little to cause men to think about the greatness of the God who created the heavens and earth and gave man the intellect and abilities to accomplish such things.

Job chapter 25, says, “And these are but the outer fringe of his works; how faint the whisper we hear of him!” I stand in awe on moonlit nights as I stare at the beauty of the heavens from my mountain home. The sky reveals the vastness of His works, the finiteness of man, and the infinity of God, the smallness of me.

Images from Mars, men planting the American flag on the moon and circling the earth should cause us to stand in awe of God, not man. We should praise His name, realizing how far beyond our comprehension He really is.

When we read Genesis chapter one, we read that light preceded the sun and moon. In Revelation 21 we see a new heaven and new earth where God and Jesus will be the light and no sun or moon will endure. All of man’s feats are nothing in comparison to the greatness of our God.

When the universe we know ceases to exist, He will remain. Give Him glory in all you do.

The Steps of Good Men

Posted by NormaGail on Aug 13, 2012 | Comments Off on The Steps of Good Men

“Follow the steps of good men instead, and stay on the paths of the righteous. For only the godly will live in the land,and those with integrity will remain in it. But the wicked will be removed from the land, and the treacherous will be uprooted.”

Proverbs 2:20-22 NLT

They had a great family, a girl living with them who wanted to learn how a Christian family functioned. They led Bible studies, and discipled others. They were well respected in the Christian community and in their church. From all appearances, they had it all.

We met in their home weekly for a Bible study, a group of young married couples wanting to grow in the Lord and looking up to them for how to have godly marriages and homes, hungry to grow in the word of God.

Then, one day, it all fell apart. He was having an affair, and it wasn’t the first. He had a drinking problem. He went to live with the other woman. His wife and kids were devastated. His ministry was in shambles. His witness shredded and damaged beyond repair.

Something good came out of that experience. We learned to look carefully at the lives of people and examine what they were doing in their personal lives. We learned not to keep our eyes on people, but on the Lord. People are frail and fallible; God is eternal and always faithful.

Our former leader finally repented after years of self-indulgent living. His death was reported to be the result of his years of drinking. In the end, his former wife and ministry partner cared for him, showing a truly godly love and forgiveness. How sad that a life with such promise was used as an example of “do as I say, not as I do,” rather than of the victory and fruitfulness which should be the result of a Christian life.

One of my most consistent prayers is to live the same life in the privacy of my own heart and home that I live in the public eye of my family, friends, church, and ministry. I don’t want to be a hypocrite, but a powerful example of what God can do in an ordinary life to make it extraordinary.

Lord, help me to see myself through your eyes. Show me my faults and don’t let me get away with justifying things which are contrary to your word. Make me a faithful and fruitful member of your body, someone of whom you can say, “Well done good and faithful servant,” not one who will be uprooted and removed from the land.

Adopted by God

Posted by NormaGail on Aug 6, 2012 | Comments Off on Adopted by God

As believers in Christ, we are adopted by God when we become believers in Jesus Christ, and He will provide everything we need for life.

Choose Peace

Posted by NormaGail on Jul 30, 2012 | Comments Off on Choose Peace

“The Lord saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of his heart was only evil all the time.” Genesis 6:5

      You have to be prepared for anything. My daughter is a paramedic and the circumstances when they answer a call are not what any mother wants her daughter to be exposed to. She has had black eyes from drunks, walked in where porn was on the TV, and been treated disrespectfully on more than one occasion. She has seen dead babies, a young woman with a gunshot wound to the head, and a young man thrown from a moving car.
       Our world is a dangerous place to live. People are not getting better with advances in technology and education, they are getting worse. The natural question is “Where is God in all of this? Why doesn’t He do something?”
      God is not blind. He is not an unconcerned observer who set the world in motion and sat back to see what kind of mess man would make of it. He is present, active, loving and grieved.
      When God created man, He let him choose whether or not to obey and live with Him in Paradise, or go his own way and suffer the consequences. Man chose to break the one and only rule God gave him, and has suffered the consequences ever since.
      Paul says, “since they [man] did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, He gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done.” This makes sense in light of the shooting of 71 people, by James Holmes, in a midnight movie preview in Aurora, Colorado this week. It can strike fear in your heart and paralyze you with fear if you let it.
      God judged the world in Noah’s day, and He will do so again, on a day that will come “like a thief.” He will wait as long as possible because “He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”
     We may live in a world of evil, but as believers in Jesus Christ, we don’t have to fear. We can have hearts filled with peace, not evil, if we choose to obey God. We have a message of hope to share with a hurting world, the message of salvation from judgment through Jesus. We can share the joy of salvation with those around us.
      Let God change the state of your heart. Choose Him. Choose peace.